


Why Him?

by JaySLC



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Caretaking, M/M, Sickfic, caretaker!shuichi, sick!ouma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 10:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15749940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaySLC/pseuds/JaySLC
Summary: Shuichi takes pity on a sick Kokichi and decides to take care of him. Reposted from my Tumblr.





	1. Little Terror

Shuichi and Keebo sat across from each other at one of the tables in the library, a mutual pile of books between them. No one had known anyone else long enough to call themselves friends yet, but Shuichi was enjoying the time he was spending with Keebo. Whether it was because he was just an overall amiable guy or one of the only sane people here, Shuichi wasn’t quite sure yet.

The two boys jumped as their peaceful atmosphere was shattered by the door to the library flying open, revealing a short boy with dark hair and a cocky smile.

“Ooooooh, sorry about that. I had _no_ idea you two were here.” From across the table, Shuichi could see Keebo’s jaw tense.

“We left a sign on the door, of course you—” Cutting him off, Kokichi hauled himself onto the table, nearly knocking over the pile of books in the process. Keebo reached out for the pile, steadying it easily as Kokichi let his legs dangle in front of him. “Can you _please_ watch where you sit?”

“There aren’t any other chairs here, where else was I supposed to sit?”

“You could have pulled one up, it’s not like me and Shuichi have the only ones.”

“I suppose I _could_ have, but that would have required so much more effort than I’m willing to give today.” Keebo sighed, running a metallic hand down his face.

“Shuichi, I-I gotta go. I forgot I promised to meet up with Miu. I’ll see you later, okay?” Without another word, Keebo bolted out of the room, leaving Shuichi shaking his head and Kokichi laughing it up.

“Keebo is _such_ a bad liar.” Kokichi sniffled involuntarily, growling as his nose started running. Without a second thought, he nuzzled his nose against the sleeve of his jacket. Shuichi nearly cringed.

“Uh, you alright there? It sounds like something’s bothering you.” Lowering the fabric, the shorter boy revealed a devilish smirk.

“Awwwwww, Shuichi! Are you worried about me? That’s so cute!!” Shuichi grit his teeth, and Kokichi chuckled. “You shouldn’t be.” Swiping the open book away from Shuichi, Kokichi flipped through its stark-white pages haphazardly. “This looks super boring.” Giving another liquid sniff, he began skimming a random page.

That was it. Shuichi liked to avoid confrontation whenever he could, but he knew that if he didn’t correct the problem now, Kokichi would only continue this string of childish behavior. He reached out for the book, but in a flash Kokichi was standing, holding the book behind him, just beyond Shuichi’s reach. Sighing, the taller boy stood, trying again to retrieve the stolen book.

“Listen, Kokichi, you really need to stop this. What you’re doing isn’t funny, it’s —” Shuichi lost his train of thought as the boy standing in front of him drew his head over his shoulder, his small body tense and still. Shuichi could imagine he’d be the type to turn away from a scolding like a child, but there was something about the way he was standing immobile that struck him has peculiar. “Uh, hey, Kokichi, are you…?” Before he could question the boy, a sharp, desperate inhale overtook the short boy’s body, and his torso lurched forward, sending a blast of air and saliva into the air, and the book tumbling to the floor.

“ _IiiI **I’SH** OOOO!!_” The Ultimate Detective instinctively braced himself as the book met the wood floor with a loud thwump.

Allowing himself to let down his guard, Shuichi stood as still as the boy on the table, nervously waiting for him to make some kind of snarky comment, pick up another book, make fun of him, anything. Instead, he stood frozen in place, hands hovering just in front of his face, breaths so quick and shallow it was easy to miss his chest moving at all. The only movements Shuichi could make out were the small twitches his nose, eyes, and mouth would occasionally make, and the ticklish tears that now tracked down his pale face. A wave of guilty sympathy rushed through him as he heard small, pained moans coming from the boy on the table. Right as Shuichi was about to ask if the other boy was okay, he bent lazily into his cupped hands.

“ _Hih- **eh** -ii’shhhhiew… ‘iiiishew_…” Groaning, Kokichi blinked his tired eyes open, his whole body looking completely worn-out from the ordeal. He was spacing out, like he just woke up and wasn’t quite sure where he was or what was happening. Like a light flicking on, realization lit up his face, and he dabbed his shirt sleeve gently against his sore nose, a playful smirk creeping out from behind his hand.

“I’m _so_ sorry for interrupting you, Shuichi. I didn’t mean to do that.” Kokichi jumped down from the table, his normally swift, calculated movements dulled. If Shuichi hadn’t been there to steady him at ground level, Kokichi probably would have kissed the floor. The shorter boy clung to Shuichi’s sleeve, genuine fear showing through his normally synthetic expressions. The detective steadied the boy carefully as he recovered from the dizziness. Kokichi chuckled half-heartedly. “I knew you’d fall for me sooner or later.”

Shuichi let go of his shoulders, blushing and pulling his book back toward him as he sat back down. He’d expected a followup jab, or for Kokichi to tell him he was just kidding, but he didn’t. Instead, he stumbled back and plopped down in the seat Keebo had abandoned, lazily pawing through the book that had been left open on the table. Shuichi stared the boy down, waiting for him to peak his way, but his eyes were stubbornly glued to the page. Biting back the frustrated curses he wanted to toss at the little shit in front of him, Shuichi took a deep breath and prodded gently.

“You allergic to something, Kokichi? I mean, it’s pretty dusty in here, I hope it’s not bothering you.” Kokichi chuckles, a tired sideways smile clinging to his pale face.

“Nope they’re just r-regular sneezes.” Yeah, okay. Shuichi didn’t need to be a detective to tell that Kokichi was burning out fast. His nose was still running all over the place and he was pale as a sheet, looking like he wanted to use the book he was pretending to read as a pillow and take a nap. He nodded and went back to his reading, deciding that the best thing to do was wait the leader out.

As expected, it wasn’t long before Kokichi began losing the battle against himself. As if startling himself, his hand shot up to meet his mouth with a gasp and a desperate liquid sniffle. Violet eyes were glazed over and half-lidded, tired and in dire need to put an end to this uncomfortable state. Groaning, he ran a finger slowly along the bridge of his nose, hoping to coax something out. The extra teasing didn’t do much except elicit more unwanted tears. He made a pathetic noise that sounded like a cross between a sob and a gag and sneezed quietly into his hands.

“Iii’ _shhh… **ii’** ssshh…_” After catching his breath, his eyes reluctantly peaked open, and the purple haired boy blushed at the worried look Shuichi was giving him. Sighing dramatically, Kokichi sprawled himself out over the table and book, his face sheltered in the crook of his outstretched arm. What was the point in trying to convince himself he was fine, anyway? Whether he admitted to it or not, it didn’t change the outcome of his health.

Shuichi watched as the boy laid down on the table, wondering why he was acting so different all of a sudden. He carefully reached over and rubbed Kokichi’s shoulder gently, wanting to help him feel less shitty but not quite sure how. Peering a violet eye over white fabric, Kokichi mumbled something Shuichi couldn’t understand, punctuating his unintelligible noises with a weak, congested cough.

“What was that?” Clearing his throat, the boy lifted his chin slightly and spoke a bit louder.

“I’m not feeling all that great.” Shuichi frowns and rubs his shoulder a little harder.

“Yeah, I can see that.” Kokichi chuckled quietly at the comment, more painful convulsions. When he was sure Kokichi’s coughs had subsided, Shuichi moved his hand between the sick boy’s shoulders.

“Hey, I really think you should go lie down. It looks like you’ve been getting worse by the minute, you don’t want whatever you have to turn into something worse.” Forcing himself up onto his elbows, Kokichi nods.

“Yeah, I guess I should, but um…” He looked out the corner of his eye, embarrassed to face his classmate straight-on. “Would you mind staying with me for a little while? I don’t really want to be alone when I’m feeling like this.” Expression wilting with anticipation of rejection, his eyes shot away. Shuichi’s massaging slowed as his cheeks threatened to heat up. Kokichi wasn’t normally the type to ask for anything, not to mention the company of others, and it made Shuichi worry that even now he wasn’t showing the full extent of what was really going on. Seeing Kokichi peek back over when he took longer than expected to reply, he hummed and rubbed his back reassuringly.

“I can stay if it’s just for a little while.” Shuichi sees a ghost of a smile on Kokichi’s sleepy face before the shorter boy hauls himself up to his feet, seemingly unstable again as he braces himself securely against his arm. Rubbing the side of his face against Shuichi’s sleeve he mutters a croaky ‘Thanks, Shuichi’. Pretending that he didn’t hear the thanks, Shuichi scooted them along as quickly as they could go without straining Kokichi, not minding spending time with the boy when he was too sick to give him trouble, but not wanting any of the others to catch him doing it.


	2. Wait Here

Shuichi felt a rush of relief as Kokichi’s door came into view. The trip didn’t take nearly as long as he’d expected, but between a couple would-be run-ins with nosy classmates and Kokichi putting increasing weight on him with every step, it felt good to see the end was in sight.

  
Scanning the hall and finding no other signs of life, Shuichi ushered the half-conscious boy into his room, squirming free from his death-grip and securing the door shut behind him.

“Okay, Kokichi, go change into something more comfortable and then you can get some sleep.” Turning around, Shuichi watched as Kokichi flopped face-first onto the bed, still fully dressed in his heavy uniform. “Kokichi, you really should change into something else before you go to sleep.” Groaning, the little terror pulled his comforter lazily over himself, the fabric landing in a way that only covered part of his legs and half his torso. Shaking his head, Shuichi walked over and placed the backs of slender fingers on the boy’s exposed cheek, trying to gauge his temperature the best he could without a thermometer. Grumbling a string of inaudible words, Kokichi rolled onto his side so he was facing him better. With part of his head sunk into the fluffy pillow, only half of his face was visible.

“There, that should make it easier for you to check.” He whispered, as if speaking at a normal volume would cost him more energy than he could exert. Shuichi nodded and reached back for his cheek, taking more time than Kokichi wanted to think over the results. “Is it that bad?” He asked nervously, knowing that if he knew how bad it really was he’d start to feel it. Retracting his hand, Shuichi gave him a reassuring little smile.

“You definitely feel warmer than you should, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. I can track down a thermometer and get some numbers for you later if it’d make you feel better.” Kokichi rolled onto his other side, burying his exposed nose and mouth in the comforter as he felt the familiar prickling in his sinuses. Taking in a quick breath, he let out a pair of pathetic sneezes into the soft material around him.

“ _Iii’SSshh! Kk’Xsshiew_!” Sniffling weakly, he rolled back over, body relaxing as if he had never exerted himself so much in his life. Looking up at his classmate with big, tired eyes, Kokichi mumbled a soft apology and gripped the comforter again, pulling it toward his chest and clutching it tightly.

“I-It’s fine. Bless you…” Shuichi was sure his heart skipped a beat. He’d never thought of Kokichi as being particularly “cute”, but watching him here, eyes draped and apologetic, incapable of housing any ill-intent… maybe there was something cute to him once you peeled away his immature exterior.

  
Sitting on the bed beside him, Shuichi hesitantly reached for the boy’s temple, slowly massaging the area with a single finger. Kokichi’s eyes fell shut almost immediately, the corners of his mouth rising into a pleased smile.

  
It wasn’t long before Kokichi was down for the count, snoring softly and burying his face completely into his pillow. Stroking the dosing boy’s hair one more time, Shuichi rose to his feet, sighing and massaging his own temple as he thought. He was relieved to see his short friend sleeping, he really needed it, but the way he crashed nearly as soon as he hit the pillow made Shuichi worry. What if he really was sicker than he thought? Sure, he didn’t seem so bad now with his low-grade fever and sneezes, but what if he woke up worse? He was already acting weird and delirious, Shuichi didn’t know what to do if he got any worse. He was no doctor, and sure as hell didn’t trust anyone else here enough to give him any kind of treatment. In his weakened state, it wouldn’t be hard at all to — no. Shuichi shook his head, willing the thoughts away.

That wasn’t going to happen, he wouldn’t let it.

Chasing the negative thoughts from his head, Shuichi decided the best thing he could do for Kokichi while he slept was to get him some food and water before he woke back up. Coming to the conclusion that Kokichi wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon, Shuichi decided that he should be able to go out on a food and water run and be back before the Ultimate Supreme Leader even realized he was gone.

  
Pocketing the spare room key and slinking out as quietly as he could, Shuichi made his way for the cafeteria, not worrying as much this time if he got caught by one of his classmates.

  
The cafeteria was pretty much empty, save for Keebo and Miu, who were camped out at a table right in front of the door to the kitchen. Shuichi hoped that the exaggerated story Miu was going off about was enough to keep her attention away from him long enough for him to slip in and out unnoticed. He really didn’t mind the girl, although she was able to get on his nerves the same way Kokichi did sometimes, he just wasn’t prepared to deal with the headache she was sure to cause.

  
Right as he reached the door, Keebo called out to him and he started.

“Hey, Shuichi! I’m sorry I left you alone in the library with the little demon, there was no way I could deal with his torment today.”

“Don’t apologize, Keebo, I get it. I probably would have left you there as bait so I could get away if you hadn’t left before me.” Miu’s booming laugh echoed through the near-empty room.

“At least you made it out alive. Plus it looks like you lost that little shit, anyway. I would have been pissed if you led him here.” Shuichi gave them a half-hearted laugh and scooted into the kitchen. Sighing in relief, he rummaged through the cabinets and refrigerator, stuffing a few granola bars into his pockets and balancing a pyramid of water bottles in his arms. Now all he had to do was come up with a believable excuse for having all this stuff and Kokichi would be all set to go.

…

Escaping back to Kokichi’s room in one piece, Shuichi maneuvered through the small space as quietly as he could, emptying the contents of his arms and pockets onto the night-stand by the boy’s bed. Examining him carefully, he smiled. The shorter boy’s hair exploded out in every direction, completely obscuring his pale face. In the short time Shuichi had been away, he had kicked his comforter completely to the floor. Lying on the bed, still in full uniform, he cuddled his pillow tightly, snoring like he had before Shuichi had left. Brushing his out of control hair off his face, Shuichi’s smile vanished when he got a good look at the boy’s face.

  
Jaw and eyes clenched shut tight, Shuichi could tell he wasn’t resting as well as his snoring would suggest. His cheeks were painted the slightest shade of pink, sweat beginning to bead at his brow. Sitting down next to him, Shuichi slowly ran his finger along the damp hairline before placing the back of his hand on his cheek. He never was any good at judging others’ temperatures this way, he didn’t have much practice with it since using thermometers were so much more reliable. When Kokichi woke up, Shuichi would have to see if someone had one he could borrow.

  
Looking back to the sleeping boy when he gave up running through the plan in his head, he saw blurry, zoned-out eyes peak open. Though Kokichi’s sleep-fogged brain clearly wasn’t processing the information his eyes were transmitting properly, he seemed to recognize Shuichi sitting with him, as the tense muscles in his face relaxed.

“Go back to sleep, Ouma. It’s okay, I’ll be here when you wake up.” Shuichi’s voice was barely a whisper, as he went back to stroking Kokichi’s face. Flashing a crooked, dazed smile, Kokichi buried his face back into the pillow, mumbling a quiet “M’kay” before starting to snore again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi's more embarrassed than reluctant about caring for Kokichi, but I think it's cute. Not sure how many more parts I want to add to this one, but it's looking like it's going to be two.


End file.
